


Pretty Boy

by chopstickgirl120



Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Fighting, Fluff, Getting Together, M/M, Making Out, alec fighting his feelings, impulsive guys, magnus bane being a smartass
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-23
Updated: 2020-04-23
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:42:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23810074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chopstickgirl120/pseuds/chopstickgirl120
Summary: Magnus backed up to a chair in the den, sitting down with one leg crossed over the other, an arm draped over the back gracefully, “You just ended up here?” He hummed, a bit of an attitude to his tone this time around, “So, you just wandered out of the institute, down through Brooklyn and thought 'hmm, I should go break into Magnus’ apartment. That’ll solidify how much I don’t like him'”
Relationships: Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood
Comments: 3
Kudos: 119





	Pretty Boy

**Author's Note:**

> Written as a gift for @warricrsbcw on tumblr <3 Set in s1.

Somehow in all of the emotional turmoil of the day, Magnus had neglected to update the wards on his loft. Lately, there’d been more lenient access for certain shadowhunters that needed his assistance. After all, he needed to be a friend of the Clave, keeping friends close, and enemies closer. And perhaps there were other reasons lurking beneath the surface, though it didn’t take a genius to see that his feelings for Alec Lightwood were completely out in the open. He’d practically thrown himself at the man, within reason of course, and been rejected. 

It was embarrassing to sit there with his drink, having practically begged Alec to give into his feelings. Since when did he beg for anything, or to anyone? Oh, how this attraction and emotion had twisted his mind and his tongue, leaving him with actions and words that were less than eloquent. 

He had to get up and move around or he was going to drive himself up the wall worrying about a boy that was going to get married and push those feelings away. Magnus moved from his spot in the den, over toward the bedroom when he felt a presence. No - that would be impossible. His wards were concrete and powerful. Even if someone unwelcome had come through them somehow, he would have felt it. 

Unless… 

With careful steps, he turned around, eyes darting to the intruder. All in one quick motion, his fingertips were crackling with blue energy, colored smoke released into the air, eyes turned to a brilliant gold. That was the look of a warlock who had nothing to lose, who was protecting himself and nothing more. The magic held the man by his throat up against the wall in a bruising grip, threatening to push him further. Only, he had to drop the show of force. 

His expression faded, that guilt and embarrassment welling up in his stomach, resentment joining them in the mix. _It was Alec_ , in all his Shadowhunter glory, dressed in what he could only assume was his lounging clothes. There was nothing that showed a threat, no weapons that he could see, other than the stele that poked out from his front pocket. He didn’t look scared by the sudden assault, but Magnus supposed that was all part of his training, keeping that fear inside, never showing weakness. 

“Alexander” Magnus finally took a breath, backing up significantly, making sure that the grip on Alec’s throat had been released and that he didn’t have trouble breathing. 

After a few dry coughs, Alec rubbed at his neck, wincing, but making no effort to activate his iratze for the injury, “I’m fine. I should have knocked” 

It was a pretty lame attempt at assurance that was alright, but Magnus was going to take what he could get when it came to Alec being anything resembling nice when it came to them, especially recently. 

“That would have been a good idea. I’ve been known to do much worse to people who invade my personal space.” Magnus’ voice was smooth, as if all of the insecurity he harbored was crammed down in an attempt at composure. Maybe it was to seem like he was fine, or to make things feel less awkward. There was still such a thick tension between them that Magnus still didn’t think he could take a full breath while looking at Alec. 

“It was a last minute decision. I didn’t plan to come here. I just - “ his words had a funny way of failing him when he was around Magnus, never able to come up with logic or explanations. It was one of the many things that kept Alec so wary about being around Magnus. He wasn’t used to it, didn’t know how to even talk to the man without stumbling over his words, “I ended up here.” 

Magnus backed up to a chair in the den, sitting down with one leg crossed over the other, an arm draped over the back gracefully, “You just ended up here?” He hummed, a bit of an attitude to his tone this time around, “So, you just wandered out of the institute, down through Brooklyn and thought _hmm, I should go break into Magnus’ apartment. That’ll solidify how much I don’t like him_ ” 

Alec opened his mouth, not to respond, but in shock to the slightly callous response he received from the warlock. He was no stranger to sarcasm or insults, but somehow, it hit harder when it came from Magnus, and that was something he wasn’t ready to address yet, “What? No. I didn’t come here to argue. Could you just back off for a second? You’re always right in my face when i’m trying to think.” 

“I’m nowhere near you. I think I’ve given you sufficient space, Alec. Any more and we’ll be in completely different zip codes.” Magnus quipped, scooping up the crystal glass, watching Alec over the rim as he took a long swig of brandy. 

“You know that’s not what I mean. _By the Angel_ , Magnus. Why don’t you just listen for two seconds before you assume that i’m on some crusade to hurt your feelings?” Alec’s raised voice caused a change in tension, the atmosphere becoming much more hostile than it was, the nephilim’s body language beginning to be as defensive as his tone. 

“Hmm, let’s review” The warlock set the drink down and cracked his knuckles, proceeding to count on his fingers, “The only time you come here is to ask for help, or a favor, or because your parabatai told you to. You spent the night once, but you had to make sure you ‘no-homo’d all over the place afterwards.” 

Alec furrowed his brows, taking a step closer to Magnus in an effort to engage a little better, “What the hell does that even mean?” he asked, shaking his head, one hand out in a signal to stop, “Just, forget about that. Can we just put all of that aside for a second and talk about _right now_?” 

“Right now?” Magnus considered it, eyes trained on Alec, as if to test his sincerity and break his resolve, “Fine. I’ll allow it. What could you possibly have left to say?” 

Alec’s fingers tightened into fists, but not aggressively. It actually looked as though he was nervously testing every part of his body, willing it to do something, to say something, now that he had the chance. There was a brief silence where Alec said nothing, though he walked over to where Magnus was. The warlock looked over to him, the proximity far too much for him to deal with. 

“I don’t know how to do this” Alec finally spoke, unable to meet the other man’s eyes, “There’s no rulebook or training when it comes to being who you are, when it goes against pretty much everything I was taught.” 

“What is it specifically that you don’t know how to do?” Magnus didn’t know what good would come of trying to break it down, but it was the closest thing to a breakthrough that they’d had so far, so he wasn’t going to throw it away, “How to go against your training?” 

Alec shook his head, “No. I mean, that’s gonna be hard to do. But I can do that.” In those words, there was hope for a changed life, a break-away from everything he’d known in exchange for happiness, “It’s like a reflex to push you away. I don’t know how to stop when I know that’s not how I feel” 

The frustration in Alec’s tone was evident as he tried to explain himself. The more he talked, the more it looked like the man was going to melt into the floor, forcing the words out before he could change his mind. To Magnus, it was actually a bit endearing, even if it was slightly painful to watch the shadowhunter go on like that. 

“Baby steps.” Magnus told him, getting up from his chair slowly, making the lack of space between them even more clear when their hands bumped together. There it was, just as he said - Alec pulled his hand away to moment their skin touched, looking panicked, even guilty. 

“Oh, you poor thing” Magnus didn’t make an attempt to touch him again right away, clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth, “You look like you’ve just been caught with your hand in the cookie jar.” 

Despite how much Alec wanted to stay composed, his face wasn’t doing a very good job of it, what with the pink hue that adorned his cheeks and ears. He was lucky that there weren’t mirrors around for him to see himself, or else he might have tried to run from even more embarrassment. Magnus looked at him straight on, trying to sound less amused than he was, “Alexander. There’s no one else here. No one to judge you while you figure this out.” 

At first, Alec gave a look of disbelief, never really having true privacy. They always needed to be battle ready, so a locked door wasn’t an option, really. Especially when Jace would use an unlock rune anyway if he wanted in. Honestly, he didn’t even know what to say, because he was certain that it would come out sounding wrong, and he’d put his foot in his mouth far too many times already when it came to Magnus Bane. He thought eventually the warlock would get tired of him and his baggage, and Alec didn’t want to witness the moment that he was done with him. 

“Can I hold your hand?” Magnus asked, but made no moves to actually do it. He was so impossibly careful not to scare Alec away that there was no way he was going to risk it. 

Alec didn’t respond verbally, better with actions anyway. He swallowed hard, and tried to focus on how he felt when he was around Magnus. Within seconds, he took Magnus’s hand in his own, first sort of like a handshake, but then he relaxed his fingers, sliding them in between Magnus’. Instead of his heart dropping in guilt, Alec felt his breath catch in his throat, making a small sound, and then taking a hold of Magnus’ other hand. 

The warlock was pretty stunned, this display akin to one of bravery by his standards. There was no denying how nervous Alec looked, and despite all of that, he was still trying so hard to allow himself to be happy. 

“This is nice” Magnus broke the silence, daring to look at Alec, gaze filled with sincerity. For the warlock, this felt so natural. He hadn’t had the chance to test this out on a physical level with Alec, and just by holding his hands, there was so much reassurance that his feelings were real. Magnus hoped that Alec felt that way too. 

“Yeah” Alec agreed, licking his lips nervously, completely out of his element. He felt so small, no power in his actions, “What am I supposed to do now?” 

Magnus couldn’t help the smile that surfaced, biting it back some so that Alec wouldn’t think he was laughing at him and his question, “There’s no right thing to do right now. Assuming you mean now, at this moment, it’s best to do what feels right. Follow your instincts, shadowhunter. I know you have that in spades.” He squeezed Alec’s hands, both of their pulses racing, finally in a place where things were starting to come together. 

“My shadowhunter instincts are telling me to _run._ ” Alec was truthful to a fault, but at least his words filled the silences that would have otherwise been awkward, “I feel like normal people don’t just stand around holding hands like this.” It was a weak excuse to put off how he felt, but it wasn’t completely untrue. 

“If that’s what you think, then why aren’t you stopping?” Magnus countered easily, though with more amusement than venom in his tone this time around. 

“I- “ There was Alec, standing there yet again, with no explanation, about five seconds from huffing and giving up, “It feels nice. That’s why I haven’t stopped. I guess it doesn’t matter if it’s normal or whatever.” 

Magnus’s brows raised, impressed and flattered, squeezing his fingers around Alec’s, “No, it really doesn’t matter. As long as we’re both feeling good about it, it doesn’t really matter if it’s normal or not.” 

“So is it?” Alec asked, looking a bit pained by what he assumed the answer was. 

“Holding hands is normal, Alexander. People do it all the time. I wouldn’t worry your pretty little head over it, darling. You have much more important things to consider.” The statement wasn’t meant to be degrading, though he was quick to look to Alec for a response, knowing just how easy it was to scare him away. 

“You and that word. I swear - “ Alec mumbled, not pulling his hands away, though his gaze was fixed on the floor, unable to actually meet Magnus’ eyes. 

“What do you mean?” 

“Pretty!” Alec’s voice raised somewhat, that same pink tinge to his cheeks showing up again so delightfully decorating his features, “You called me _pretty boy_ , and you just said my head was _pretty_. What are you trying to do to me, exactly?” 

There was a look of disbelief that didn’t seem to leave Magnus’ face for at least a minute, eventually turning into a small smile, “I’m not trying to do anything, except tell you that _I think you’re pretty_ ” he said, matter-of-factly, trying to meet Alec’s eyes so that they could sort out whatever Alec’s insecurities were. 

Whatever was going on in Alec’s head was quickly turned to action, a shaky turning to a fist as he grabbed a gentle handful of Magnus’s hair, pulling him close. The kiss that followed was neither expert, nor planned, but it was satisfying all the same. At first, it was all teeth, clumsily being bumped together too hard from the surprise affection. But it only took a moment or two for soft, careful, _curious_ kisses to be exchanged. 

Every time that Magnus attempted to pull away to talk about it, Alec was able to pull him back in. Well, far be it from Magnus to complain about something he’d daydreamed about since he’d laid eyes on Alec Lightwood and his glorious form. It was so easy to get lost in it. Alec didn’t even complain when Magnus led him backwards to the couch to kiss his neck, unable to help himself from nipping over the deflect rune on his throat. Judging by the moans that followed, Magnus was pretty certain he’d found a sweet spot. 

The nephilim squirmed under him, and while Alec was still sitting up on the couch, Magnus’ thighs had already bracketed around Alec’s hips, trapping him there. The problem started when Magnus’ hands were rucking up Alec’s shirt in the front, revealing runed skin. Alec nearly jumped, grabbing Magnus’ hands with a force he didn’t really mean to use. 

“Wait - “ Alec said between labored breaths, resting his head against Magnus’ shoulder, “I just. I didn’t come over to - “ he was in complete disarray, shirt pushed up over his abdomen, hair tousled by Magnus’ fingers, lips kiss swollen. Magnus looked similar, the two men sitting in a silence only broken by catching their breath. 

“No. Of course you didn’t. I shouldn’t have allowed it to get this far.” Magnus shifted from his lap and onto the seat next to him, designer slacks feeling far too tight, “I guess we both got a little carried away.” 

“A little?” He asked in disbelief, “Magnus, I’m pretty sure we got more than a little carried away. I can’t get up right now, even if I wanted to” Alec was squirming again, unable to adjust himself with Magnus staring at him like that. 

“It could have been much more. Our clothes are still on, there’s that.” Magnus shrugged, “I could get up, but you’d see a lot more than you probably want to.” 

“You tried to take off my shirt.” Alec accused, voice getting higher, not even addressing the second part of his statement. 

“Yes. And when you stopped me, I didn’t keep trying to take it off. Did you want me to keep going?” 

“No.” Alec finally admitted, burying his face in his hands, “I mean, yeah. But not now. Not when I'm all over the place like this. I don’t wanna yell at you and be kissing you the next minute.” 

“You know, some people rather enjoy that kind of tension.” The joke didn’t hit right, but at least it was something, “I don’t want to fight with you, Alexander.” 

“I hope that I won’t have to. I mean, this sorta helped me figure out where to start.” Alec actually looked over at Magnus that time, hands linked again. It wasn’t all solved, and there would be hurdles to jump over, but at least they knew one thing: 

They were worth figuring it out.


End file.
